


Learning and Laughter

by HuntressFirefall



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Tickle Fights, Victuri, Victuri fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 07:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10657668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuntressFirefall/pseuds/HuntressFirefall
Summary: Victor Nikiforov opens up a little bit more to Yuri Katsuki about his past via two new L words to go along with Life and Love.





	Learning and Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posting here. I wrote this back in January after bingeing Yuri on Ice. It takes place near the beginning of the 2017-2018 skating season. Just a bit of fluff that came out of nowhere that I've finally gotten up the nerve to share. :) This has not been betaed but I swear I've read it over about 50 times lol!

Yuri Katsuki was having a bit of a time keeping his eyes open as Victor Nikiforov drove through the quiet streets of St. Petersburg, still dark as dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky to the east. He'd gotten used to being up even earlier than he had been when he'd trained in Detroit, as Victor's rink always had a full schedule of lessons and practice to work around. This particular early autumn morning however Victor had scheduled both of their sessions for the later morning and afternoon, as today was something Yuri always looked forward to even when he'd been having a rough time with skating as a whole: costume concept day. He and Victor had talked quite a bit about what they were both thinking for this season, with Victor drawing up several sketches for them both (something that had surprised Yuri; it turned out Victor was a bit of an artist on paper as well, but he'd never pursued it with any seriousness because of skating).

However, Yuri was coming to realize that Victor was a bit more nervous about the coming season – his comeback season after taking a year off to be Yuri's coach – than his former (and well, current) idol was letting on. Victor must have had a hundred drawings in the sketchbook he kept by the bed, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night to scribble out another idea while insisting he'd seen it in a dream. Yuri offered countless times to stay in the guest room – he was worried that Victor wasn't sleeping well enough with another presence in his bed after quite a long time, by Victor's admission – but Victor wouldn't hear of it. In his own practice sessions, Yuri would try not to be conspicuous as he watched Victor work tirelessly on his new programs. Even though the Russian legend was still flawless – Yuri was certain Victor had forgotten what it felt like to fall on a jump – he was demanding so much of himself that even Yakov had taken to giving his star student the verbal equivalent of grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking some sense into him. But Victor was determined that if this was going to be his last season, he would go out on a high of winning his sixth World Championship while also proving that the inspiration gained from his year of coaching his own star pupil did much more good than harm.

But it had been good to see Victor excited and in a good mood about what was to come this morning, and as they pulled around the back of the modest building on a side street of St. Petersburg, Yuri couldn't help but smile as an even bigger smile crossed Victor's face as he made note of the other car parked in the lot.

“Lenachka is already here and waiting for us. She has always made time for me in the early morning, before she opens her dressmaking shop, so I have privacy to work with her. You will love her. She has been like a mother to me.”

“So she really has made every single one of your costumes?” Yuri asked as they got out of the car; Victor pressed a button on the door frame and a faint buzzing could be heard from inside.

Victor nodded, another warm smile crossing his face. “From my very first competition. I feel like at this point if she doesn't make my costumes, maybe I will not win. Perhaps it is superstition, but there are worse superstitions to have I guess.”

The clank-and-slide of a heavy lock and the rattle of keys unlocking another lock broke off their conversation. The door pulled inward and a chubby, middle-aged woman was revealed in the gray light of the early morning, her face lighting up with a squeal as she reached for Victor. Yuri's heart flipped a bit as a completely unrestrained, joyous laugh mixed with a grunt at the woman's crushing embrace escaped from Victor, along with almost childlike protests as she pressed a sloppy kiss on both of his cheeks.

“Vitya! It is so good to see you finally! It took you long enough to get here! How many books have you filled up this time?” she asked.

Victor did his best to be subtle about drying off his cheeks with the back of one hand. “Just one this time. Yuri has been very helpful in being an extra pair of eyes for me... oh! Forgive me, I am being rude. Elena Benayaeva, this is Yuri Katsuki. Yuri, this is Lenachka, my costumer.”

Yuri clasped his hands to his chest and bowed respectfully. “It is good to meet you. Victor has been looking forward to this so I am as well.”

“You're even more adorable in person. Victor hasn't stopped talking about you.” She winked at Victor and Yuri was surprised to see a full-on flush cross Victor's face. “All right, let's get inside. I have coffee and I made your favorite.” The sing-songy tone of Lena's last word, and the expression on Victor's face in response, told Yuri there was something special about it.

“Lenachka! I am in training! You are evil to tempt me with vatrushki!” Victor cried in mock distress. Yuri looked over at the plate of an indeed very tempting batch of homemade pastries and hoped Victor wouldn't mind if he tried one.

“They look delicious,” Yuri added. “If Victor doesn't want his I'll take his share.” Victor's response was an attempt at “viciously” protecting the plate with a hand on the table in front of it accompanied with a scowl, which quickly dissolved into laughter.

“Ah, they're actually not too bad. Just cottage cheese inside. The protein is actually pretty good for the morning, we'll need it since lunch has to be light today. Try it.” Victor picked one up then, holding it to Yuri's lips with a smile. “It might be better than katsudon. But not by much. But to me, it is like tasting an old friend.”

“You'd know about that wouldn't you?” Yuri shot back; Victor's face turned aghast and he once again dissolved into hearty laughter, playfully shoving the pastry into Yuri's mouth. In turn, Yuri took a bite as he cupped a hand under it, finding it still somewhat warm from the oven. Victor watched as Yuri took in the taste, the younger man finally swallowing.

“Wow okay you didn't lie,” Yuri said with a laugh. “It makes me realize I never asked you what your favorite food was, even though you've known mine since day one.”

“Well now you have your answer,” Victor replied as he picked up one of the vatrushki, then made his way to the coffee pot.

“Now I want to make sure I have accurate measurements,” Lena said as she came in from another room with a basket full of sewing utilities, her silver-gray hair tossed up into a bun where it hadn't been when she'd opened the door. “You eat and tell me what has been going on in your life and I will measure Yuri first.”

Victor smiled, picking up a napkin and reaching over to dab at one corner of Yuri's mouth as Yuri finished his pastry. “Good, do that or he will steal all the rest,” Victor winked. Yuri bumped his hip playfully against Victor's as he passed by, the other man's demeanor becoming infectious. Yuri was pretty sure he hadn't seen Victor this relaxed in quite some time.

Yuri stepped up onto a heavy wooden block so Lena could measure his leg lengths first without having to get onto the floor, then stepped back down as she continued his waist, torso and arms. “So there is a lot of talk that you two are married,” Lena said with a teasing tone as she noted Yuri's ring. “Yakov said you went on vacation together, is that what happened? It better not because I didn't get to make the dresses!”

Both men found themselves laughing at that. “No, not yet,” Victor said. “But when it does you will only need to make one dress. Yuri will wear it.”

“What!” Yuri laughed. “We'll see about that. I think you'd look pretty good in one.”

Lena was taking Yuri's hip measurements when he was startled by a sound slap on his bum.

“Well he's a cute one all right, I can see why you like him Vitya,” she teased; once again Victor's face went red. It was a bit of a surprise to hear; since they'd had some less-than-favorable responses to their relationship since coming to Russia; there were still people that thought Victor would eventually drop Yuri, that their relationship was only temporary until one or both skaters retired. “He's got a shape a lot like yours when you were younger. He wore my costume from your junior days last season so I should not be surprised.”

Yuri couldn't help but notice that Victor was trying to hide some sort of emotion that had caught him off guard behind a particularly long drought from his coffee cup as Yuri gave Lena his skates so she could measure them for boot covers. As she turned her back to the pair, Yuri walked over to Victor, laying a hand on the Russian's bicep.

“What is it?” Yuri asked, his face portraying his concern.

Victor set down his coffee cup, a bit of sadness in his eyes and his voice soft as he replied. “Lena was the first to know about my sexuality. I was still figuring myself out when I first came to her, but she knew before even I really did. She knew that the girls I would see here and there were more about learning who I was than any real feelings. To the rest of the world, I just didn't have time to date a girl seriously because of the way things blew up with skating. But one day when she was working with me on my costumes for my first year in seniors, she could tell something was bothering me. My first real crush was on a man, and I couldn't tell him... because I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. If anyone knew, it would not have been a good thing. That... is where the bravado came from, the attitude. It was the ultimate example of my doing something no one would expect. There were always whispers, people wondered about me... so my Eros was for the ladies. But inside, it was killing me that I couldn't tell anyone. So I told Lenachka.”

“And... when did everyone else find out?” Yuri asked, his voice gentle; he could tell by Victor's eyes reliving that time in his life was bringing something painful to the surface.

Victor raised his turquoise eyes to Yuri's, the ever-present lock of silver hair veiling the left partway. His voice was even softer now, and Yuri was pretty sure it was emotion holding it in.

“Everyone found out with the rest of the world... when I kissed you at Cup of China,” Victor replied. “I never thought I would ever come to that point, that I wouldn't care who knew. But... in the end, all it took was the right person to help me find my true Eros.”

Yuri felt his heart melt then and he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Victor's as he slipped one arm around his Russian lover's waist, tightening it in a gentle squeeze of comfort. He had a million questions now, but one that had been in his mind since his arrival in St. Petersburg had been answered. Now Yuri realized Victor was paying a bit of a price for their love... which made Yuri that much more determined to do everything he could to stand by their relationship in the coming months, when they were sure to be grilled by every media outlet in pre-competition interviews.

“I'm sorry... I didn't mean to ruin the day,” Yuri murmured, his hand moving up to rub Victor's back comfortingly.

“No... it's fine. You should know about the people who are in my life and their places, just like I learned about yours. It's just... Russians have a little harder time opening up sometimes. Maybe it is one of the reasons I fell for you. I saw myself in your fear of accepting love and support.”

Yuri was sure he was going to tear up if this line of conversation didn't stop, and all he needed was to make Victor any more melancholy than he already had. “We'll talk more later,” Yuri murmured again, his voice reassuring. All he really wanted to do right then was hold Victor and comfort him, but was comforted himself when Victor smiled back, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek – the kind that Yuri had come to recognize as a “thank you” from Victor when words failed him.

“All right you two lovebirds. Vitya needs to come over here and let me measure him before he gets dragged off to bed,” Lena's teasing, thickly-accented voice piped in. It was just the tension-breaker the two men needed and they burst into raucous laughter for several moments, both blushing furiously before composing themselves.

“You are losing the last bit of your discretion as you get older,” Victor said, still laughing as he walked over and stepped up onto the wooden block. “Or do you just like to make me blush?”

“When you get to my age you don't care what people think anymore. I speak my mind. You know I tease because I love,” Lena replied as she busied herself measuring Victor's legs.

Yuri picked up another vatrushki and finally got his cup of coffee as Lena continued to measure out Victor, who had stepped down off of the block. The pair had slipped into speaking in Russian, and aside from a few words that stood out Yuri found himself temporarily out of the loop. It was just as well; Victor had been trying to teach Yuri some basic Russian phrases but for the most part, the pair spoke English to each other as it was the only language they both had in common. He loved the way Victor sounded speaking it though, so he sat down at the table and listened as he nibbled on the pastry, trying to savor it despite being quite hungry.

His attention had begun to wander a bit and he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check on his messages when he heard Victor laugh, his voice in a playfully scolding tone as he continued to speak in Russian. Lena was apparently trying to get something out of Victor and was poking at his side; Victor in turn flinched, batting at her hand until he finally moved away, wagging a finger at her when she attempted to grab at the soft spot at his waist. Lena reacted with an expression that was exaggeratedly miffed, then continued their conversation which had turned to the sketches in Victor's book. After a few moments Yuri put two and two together, and with a hint of a wicked smirk decided to file the inadvertent discovery away for another time.

The morning flew by, with the pair ending up picking out fabrics for Lena to work up prototypes of their ideas, then getting to go into another room in the building that Victor called the “Dragon's Hoard” and with good reason: Yuri had never seen such a huge collection of beads, rhinestones and other embellishments. He was drawn to a particular tin full of aurora borealis crystals that would work well with his costume idea, but shied away at the price tag for using them. He felt Victor's eyes on him then and Yuri peered at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Those are my favorites too,” Victor nodded. “I've had them on most of my costumes. I think she probably keeps them here just for me at this point.”

“I thought they looked familiar. Maybe that's why I was drawn to them,” Yuri replied.

“I will tell her to save them for both of us then, and let me know if she needs more. You just can't have more on your costume than on mine,” Victor replied teasingly.

“But Victor I can't really aff--” Before he could get the words out, Victor hushed Yuri with a finger pressed over his lips.

“Shh. I told you not to worry about it.” Victor moved his hand away and immediately replaced it when Yuri again tried to protest. “Ah ah... I said don't worry.” He refused to take his hand away again until Yuri acquiesced with a nod. Victor appeared to be about to say something more when Lena called from the work room; the shop would be opening shortly if they wanted to take their leave before customers began arriving. After calling out to her that they'd be out in a minute, Victor turned back to Yuri and leaned in, stealing a kiss from his partner by way of reassurance before they made their way back out into the shop.

 

* * *

 

“That massage was just what I needed. I'm ready to sleep for a week,” Yuri said as he and Victor rode the elevator up to Victor's penthouse apartment in the city. Yuri still hadn't quite gotten used to the place, but as long as Victor was there, it always felt like home.

“You have to get them at least once a week. It helps so much with the tension,” Victor replied as they stepped out of the private elevator. Yuri had just set his skating bag down in the closet in the foyer when Victor wrapped his arms around him from behind, giving him a tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great today. You're getting more and more consistent, even Yakov noticed this afternoon. The quad flip looks easy for you now.”

Yuri smiled, leaning into Victor's lips on his skin. “It is feeling better. I think I've got it right, finally.” He then turned in Victor's arms to face him, wrapping his own arms around him.

“You looked like you never left,” Yuri smiled. “For a while today during your runthroughs I was that 12 year old kid again in awe of you. You keep saying that you're older and don't have as much stamina as me but I don't see it.”

The mischievous glint in Victor's deep blue eyes told Yuri the reply was coming and he could almost guess what it would be. “It all depends on what I'm doing. My hips have gotten a lot stronger lately though, so that helps.”

There was never, ever a time that Victor didn't enjoy pushing Yuri out of his comfort zone, be it with words, when coaching him on the ice, or more recently, in matters of intimacy... and this was no exception. No matter how bawdy the Russian's humor was, Yuri still hadn't gotten quite used to it. But it had been a good day for them both, and as Victor's hearty laugh filled the room in reaction to making his gentle partner blush yet again, Yuri suddenly felt a mischievous spark of his own flare up. His right hand began to wander down over the thin, tight-fitting shirt Victor was wearing until it found that same soft spot at the other man's waist...

The sudden wide-eyed expression of surprise that crossed Victor's face was all Yuri needed. Victor always enjoyed being surprised – in fact, it was almost an addiction to the daring Russian in some ways. Yuri always felt that Victor was the stronger of the two of them despite Victor maintaining they were equals, so the thrill of finding even the smallest thing that disarmed the focused, confident champion, especially something intimate, spurred Yuri forward. Both hands gripped at Victor's waist, fingertips pressing in a bit until a yelp and laugh told him he was on the right track. Victor pulled away, stepping back, his face a mixture of surprised and wary.

“You saw Lenachka trying to get me to tell her secrets about us!” Victor said, pointing a finger at Yuri.

“How didn't I figure this out about you before, hm?” Yuri said with a smirk, stepping forward again; in response Victor stepped back a few more paces, nervous laughter mixing in with his words.

“Maybe you would have, maybe you wouldn't,” Victor noted as he dodged another attempt by Yuri to get a hold of him again.

“You know I'm going to get you eventually right?” Yuri said, watching as Victor backed up to the sofa in the living room. Quickly thinking over the other's position, Yuri pretended to stop advancing, pausing a pace or two before Victor.

“Maybe. If I let you,” Victor replied. Yuri could see the intrigue mixed with playful apprehension in Victor's eyes as he peered at Yuri through the lock of silver hair with a wary smirk on his lips. It almost seemed like Victor was finding himself in unfamiliar territory – but then again Yuri rarely was the first to initiate something like this.

“And why wouldn't you?” Yuri questioned. The reaction was just what he'd hoped for: As Victor paused to ponder his answer for a moment, Yuri saw his chance and pounced, knocking Victor backwards onto the thick, bouncy sofa and pinning him on his back. His left forearm pressed into Victor's chest to keep him pinned as his right hand attacked at the waist, tickling mercilessly. He broke into laughter as Victor squirmed, laughing with abandon but not really trying to make Yuri stop. When Yuri was sure Victor had pretty much lost his composure he attacked with the other hand as well. Both hands moved down to one of Yuri's favorite places on Victor's body, the soft spots at the top of his hipbones – and found Victor's weak spot. Within a few moments Victor was laughing helplessly, too overcome to fight back even if he wanted to, hands flailing a bit as he seemed to still not want to make Yuri stop. Finally Yuri backed off, still straddling Victor and out of breath from laughing with him.

It took Victor a few moments to regain his composure, face flushed from laughing; he then looked up at Yuri, reaching up with one hand to remove the other's glasses which had gone crooked on his face in the scuffle and setting them on the end table behind his head.

“Well... I cannot say... you have run out of surprises yet,” Victor finally replied, still a bit out of breath. “Did you enjoy yourself?” He reached up to tousle Yuri's glossy dark hair, letting a bit of it fall down over his eyes.

“Mmm... I'm not gonna lie, it was fun. I've never seen you like that before.”

“I've never let anyone do it... not since I got older anyway. As a child was different of course... but never like this.”

Yuri's brow furrowed curiously at that. “Why?”

Victor sighed then, seeming to consider his words. “You only tell the secrets that make you the most vulnerable to those who deserve to know them,” he replied. “For a few moments I didn't like that you knew... because it was how I always have been. Guarded, not letting people in all the way because sometimes I couldn't tell why they were there. It was really hard to not put up that wall again. But you... might be... no, I think... you are the only one I have ever been able to trust that much, that I let it fall. When you did it... it didn't make me feel like I'd given something away I didn't want to.”

Yuri felt a flush play over his face at Victor's words. He leaned down then, meeting Victor's lips with his own, letting the kiss linger a bit as he tried to convey with emotions those that had washed over him at Victor's confession. He felt Victor's hands move up and over his shoulders, then down to his sides...

…and Yuri just as quickly broke the kiss and jumped back with a start as Victor's hands found the same soft places, his face wicked as Yuri suddenly realized he was about to be the target of some Russian revenge. Bounding off the couch he took off with Victor in pursuit, the dodge-and-dash around the living room peppered with laughter and yelps as both men tried to take each other down. Yuri was successful for a few moments when he doubled back and caught up with Victor from behind, pinching at the top of his hipbones and nearly causing Victor to double over in laughter again before he suddenly pulled away. Finally Victor spun around and reversed the chase and Yuri realized he was trapped as he advanced, causing Yuri to back into the bedroom.

“Uh so I was just playing... I mean... I didn't mean to... uh...” He knew he was already doomed as Victor's wicked smirk widened the more flustered Yuri became – it was his favorite thing to tease Yuri until he melted in intimacy or hid his face in shyness or embarrassment. Yuri felt the edge of the bed against the backs of his legs then, with Victor pressing his chest into Yuri's until the smaller man fell back onto the mattress.

“Now. You see, there is one thing I think you forgot when you planned your attack,” Victor growled, the wicked grin crossing his face telling Yuri he was pretty much dead at this point. He felt Victor grab both of his wrists, then wrap both of them in one of his much larger hands, pinning them on the bed over Yuri's head. For a second what was happening didn't register, and then suddenly Yuri was overcome with that nervous panic when one is about to be tickled and can do absolutely nothing about it. “I'm a lot stronger than you.”

Yuri was already nervously giggling as Victor hovered his free hand over him, wiggling his fingers. He tried to squirm but Victor straddled him on the bed. “I'm sorry, I promise I'll never do it again! I promise!” He dissolved into helpless giggles then as Victor began trying different places, teasing by tickling for a few moments, then moving to another place but waiting just long enough that Yuri thought he'd decided to stop, but he knew better. When Victor found something that disarmed Yuri, he always explored it to see where it would lead.

“Victor! Oh god please!” Yuri giggled when Victor pinched softly the top of one thigh, another weak spot, the teasing leading up to the inevitable full attack only making it worse. But as the fingertips of Victor's free hand then moved up and tickled down from one underarm to one side of Yuri's ribs he started losing control, laughing harder as Victor approached his weakest spots while his resistance broke down completely. When Victor's hand finally moved down to the bit of skin that was exposed by Yuri's shirt riding up during the scuffle is when the yelp-laugh that Yuri hoped he could hold in escaped, and with the most evil, wicked grin Yuri was sure he had seen from him yet (which was saying something), Victor went in for the kill.

Yuri was pretty sure Victor had been more composed than he was able to be even in the midst of a tickle fight. Unable to control his hysterical laughter and squeals – where the hell were _those_ coming from anyway?? – he pulled in vain on his hands in an attempt to free them from Victor's grip as Victor's other hand went first for his waist, then stomach – which is when Yuri lost it completely. Victor was laughing so hard at Yuri's reactions he was nearly in tears and he finally stopped after what felt like an hour but really was probably just a short few minutes. Yuri struggled to catch his breath as Victor wiped at his eyes, still laughing as he worked on composing himself as well.

“Oh my God that was evil!” Yuri finally cried, grabbing one of the throw pillows on the bed and smacking Victor with it, setting Victor into another fit of laughter.

“So? You started it!” Victor shot back.

“But I didn't hold you down! Well... not like that anyway!” Yuri replied.

“Not like you could,” Victor replied smugly, knowing it would needle at Yuri that much more. “But now you have something to strive for, because I know you very well and I know you'll try again.”

“Uh I dunno... not if this is what happens!” Yuri laughed... and then his tone changed as Victor leaned forward, still straddling him. Lacing the fingers of both of his hands with Yuri's he pinned them lightly to the bed this time as his face moved in close, Victor's lips brushing Yuri's as his deep, slightly gravelly voice turned seductively smooth.

“Well... You know I like surprises. And you've surprised me tonight,” Victor purred. “You know I am also excited by surprises. And you know what it means when you have excited me.”

Yuri shivered then as Victor nuzzled into his neck, taking a mouthful of skin and leading Yuri to sigh, his hands tightening around Victor's as he felt the evidence of Victor's excitement through their clothes.

“Y...yes...” Yuri murmured as Victor's lips trailed over his neck, “I do.”

 


End file.
